Human May Have Contracted Foot And Mouth in UK

LONDON, United Kingdom, April 24, 2001 (ENS) - Tests are being carried out on a slaughterman suspected of having contracted foot and mouth disease (FMD), the UK government confirmed Monday. The disease is extremely rare in humans and not fatal.

The man, who was involved in culling animals and disposing of carcasses in north Cumbria, the county most affected by FMD, is the seventh person to be tested by the Public Health Laboratory Service.

Carcasses burn in a funeral pyre near Hadrians Wall, Northumberland. (Photos by Ian Britton, courtesy freefoto.com)

Also called hoof and mouth disease, foot and mouth is caused by a virus affecting cloven hoofed animals, such as cows, pigs, sheep, goats and deer. The disease is characterized by blisters in the mouth and on the feet.

The blisters grow larger and then break, exposing raw, eroded surfaces. Eating becomes difficult and painful, and because the soft tissues under the hoof are inflamed, the animal invariably becomes lame and may shed its hooves.

In a statement, the Department of Health said the man's condition was "not giving cause for concern," adding that he has been placed in quarantine.

Test results are expected back today or tomorrow. If they prove positive, it will be only the second confirmed case of FMD in a human in the UK.

These new born lambs pictured in March near Stamfordham, Northumberland, have likely since been culled.

The symptoms disappeared after a couple of weeks and Brewis suffered no lasting damage.

FMD has been diagnosed in humans in other countries where the virus is more common, but it should not be confused with hand, foot and mouth, which is a completely different disease.

A UK business association, the Institute of Directors, estimates that the country has lost £20 billion (US$28.8 billion) in tourism revenue, as visitors, particularly Americans, cancel trips because of fears the FMD virus harms humans.

The UK government has been battling to allay fears that its methods of disposing of animals culled to prevent the spread of the disease are potentially dangerous.

The logistical challenge of quickly disposing of more than a million slaughtered animals has raised new fears over dioxins and groundwater contamination.

In the UK's House of Commons Monday, Labour Member of Parliament Tam Dalyell recommended the government use napalm to dispose of carcasses, instead of burning or burial.

Disinfectant mat laid to halt the spread of foot and mouth, near Old Stillington, County Durham.

The World Health Organization has linked dioxins with falling sperm counts, genital malformations and learning difficulties.

Environmental group Friends of the Earth accused the government of failing to act on authoritative warnings about the dangers of FMD prior to the outbreak in February.

Key bodies including the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the European Union Scientific Committee on Animal Health and Animal Welfare warned the government repeatedly that intensive farming and large scale animal movements would seriously increase the risk of FMD and other transmittable diseases, said the group.

"But the government failed to take action to reduce animal movements, reduce the density of animals on farms or even warn farmers of the need to take out adequate insurance cover," added the group.

According to NFU Mutual, the largest provider of agricultural insurance, only 10 percent of farmers are insured for FMD.

Friends of the Earth point to the following warnings issued to the UK government prior to the latest FMD outbreak.

• In 1998, the FAO warned that Europe was especially vulnerable to livestock diseases because of the large scale animal movements with the European Union as well as the high density, even overcrowding, of animals on European farms.

• In 1999, the European Union Scientific Committee on Animal Health and Animal Welfare stated that the European Union was at "extraordinary high" risk of FMD because of the presence of the disease in countries on the edge of the European Union.

• In 1999, the Italian Public Health Ministry said that "changes in the livestock industry, such as the rapid transportation of animals over long distances, and the concentration of livestock in large intensive units, are conductive to outbreaks of exotic diseases which can occur unexpectedly."

"But it is now becoming clear that the government itself must face criticism. It has repeatedly ignored warnings about the way we farm and the consequent risks of epidemics.

A closed road at Heddon on the Wall, Northumberland.

The group has written to Prime Minister Tony Blair, asking why warnings were ignored, and National Farmers' Union president Ben Gill, asking why farmers were not warned about increased risks.

It also wants a public inquiry into the causes of the current outbreak. The number of confirmed cases of FMD in the UK reached 1,459 today. There were 22 confirmed cases in Europe, including one in the Republic of Ireland, as of the weekend.